'American Chopper' Reality Show Lures Visitors to Malaysia

By MANIK MEHTA NEW YORK, Oct 5 (Bernama) -- Orange County Choppers, a custom and production motorcycle manufacturer in Newburgh, New York, has teamed up with Tourism Malaysia’s New York office to build the 1Malaysia Chopper. The special motorcycle was featured on the U.S. based Discovery Channel series American Chopper: Senior vs Junior that was first unveiled in Malaysia on March 24 this year. The motorbike was created to mark an initiative by Prime Minister Najib Razak to highlight the strong cultural harmony in Malaysia. Najib’s famous line "We have many ethnic groups including Malay, Chinese and Indian along with indigenous groups but we stand together as one Malaysia" resonated well, and was emblematic of the 1Malaysia concept. American Chopper, a reality television series, centered on Paul Teutul Sr. (also known as Senior), the founder of Orange County Choppers who made his first visit to Malaysia a few months ago. Teutul Sr. praised Malaysia’s "cultural diversity and its very friendly people". AMERICAN CHOPPER PROVIDES A WINDOW OF MALAYSIA The comments were well received in the United States and helped provide greater visibility for Malaysia as an attractive destination, according to Salahuddin Mohd. Ariffin, vice president of Tourism Malaysia at the New York office. In an interview with Bernama, Salahuddin said that the two episodes of ‘American Chopper: Senior vs Junior’ had featured the construction of the bike, the unveiling ceremony in Malaysia and Teutul Sr. exploring Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur. These were premiered on the Discovery Channel in the U.S. in April and May 2012 and the New York office says the outcome from the episodes has been positive for Malaysia’s image. "Positive public comments from Mr. Teutul have been well received," said Salahuddin. Anthony Bourdin, a celebrity host for the television series ‘No Reservations’ on the Travel Channel focusing on food, helped promote Malaysia as a food destination. THE LURE OF MALAYSIA'S CULINARY DIVERSITY Bourdin, who visited Malaysia in February, made a strong statement in favour of Malaysia’s culinary diversity. Tourism Malaysia’s New York office has seen a subsequent surge in tourism traffic from the United States to Malaysia. Despite the enormous geographic distance and the lack of direct connectivity to Malaysia, traffic has, in fact, increased from this part of the world to Malaysia. Indeed, 119,528 U.S. travellers visited Malaysia in the first half (January to June) of 2012, recording an 18.9 per cent growth compared to the same period last year. The U.S. traffic is the second highest, behind U.K.’s 196,738 arrivals among the ten long-haul markets for the first six months of the year. According to Salahuddin, American visitors spend over a week in Malaysia and usually combine their trip with another destination which is very likely to be Thailand, Bali or Singapore. BORNEO CAPTIVATES AMERICANS "If American tourists visit Borneo, then it’s probably their only destination. Borneo in itself consumes all their time because of its sheer natural splendor, pristine beaches and wildlife. Americans recognise Borneo as a brand," Salahuddin said. Scuba diving is a favourite past time while vacationing in Borneo and Americans also like to explore city life and try out different cuisines there. "Sabah and Sarawak (in East Malaysia) are good selling points because they are unique," said Salahuddin. On the other hand, tourists visiting Peninsular Malaysia are likely to combine their trip with another destination. Unlike in Europe, where people tend to tighten their belts when there is an economic downturn, Americans continue to be big spenders and are increasingly venturing into Asia more than Europe. MORE AMERICANS COMING TO MALAYSIA Salahuddin said the latest figures from the Office of Travel and Tourism Industry (OTTI) of the U.S. Department of Commerce revealed that during the first half of 2012, some 2.20 million Americans had visited Asia. Their trip mainly covered India, Southeast Asia (including Malaysia) and the Far East, posting a 9.1 per cent growth while Europe recorded only 5.6 per cent growth in the same period. As America’s trade relations with Asia intensify, more and more American travellers will visit the ASEAN region. "The United States is a market inherent with good growth potential," Salahuddin said. However, Americans are also fastidious travellers and are emphatic about good service in hotels, restaurants, taxis and tourist guides etc. Tourism Malaysia’s New York office is confident about achieving the target of 235,000 tourist arrivals from the United States set by its Kuala Lumpur headquarters. "We already had 119,528 arrivals from the U.S. during the first half of the year, more than half of the targeted tourist arrivals for the entire year. We have been so far happy with the trend," Salahuddin added. In 2011, Malaysia received 216,755 visitors from the United States, generating revenue of about RM730 million (US$243.2 million). -- BERNAMA